Banter Between Brothers
by TheLadyInGold
Summary: A quiet Saturday afternoon, a shared slice of cake and some brotherly teasing.


Banter Between Brothers

_I don't think Canada gets enough love... he's one of my favorite APH characters. Here, I just wanted to show the warm brotherly relationship between him and America. Alfred may be a little obnoxious at times, but he genuinely loves and cares about "Matty" (and actually knows who he is!)... and Canada really enjoys teasing and being teased by his big brother._

Saturday had, so far, been a glorious day. The sun shone in a brilliant blue sky, the breeze was warm and pleasant, and the temperature was just perfect. All of this meant that Canada was engaging in one of his favorite pastimes: lying on the couch doing nothing. In fact, at the moment he had a pillow over his face and was dozing contentedly. His long, skinny legs hung over the armrest and one arm dangled over the side, fingers brushing the floor.

Canada's peaceful moment didn't last long, though. The voice roaring at him from the direction of the kitchen hit him like a giant fist. "MATTY! MATTY!"

Canada immediately fell off the couch. Snatching his glasses from the coffee table, he scrambled to his feet. As he raced toward the voice to see what was wrong, he tried to put his glasses on... and promptly poked himself in the eye with one of the arms. "Ow!" he exclaimed as he skidded into the dining area.

America stood by the counter, grinning, the open cake box siting next to him with one slice of cake left in it . "There's only one slice of cake left. Want it?"

Canada's shoulders sagged. "You scared the crap out of me, Alfred," he said reproachfully. "I thought something was wrong with you."

"Sorry, Matty," America replied. "I didn't realize you were so close. So, do you want the cake?"

"Umm... why don't we share it?" Canada answered.

"Sounds good," America said. He went to the cupboard and got two plates, then carefully sliced the piece of cake in half. Canada noticed that America had given himself the slightly smaller piece. He smiled as America went to the freezer and retrieved the carton of ice cream.

"There," America proclaimed proudly as he dished them each out a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream to top their slices of cake. He placed Canada's plate in front of him with a flourish. "Cake Alamo."

That made Canada laugh. "It's pronounced a la mode," he told America.

America laughed and gently poked Canada in the ribs. "Hey, I say tomato and you say tomahto," he replied.

"No, that's Arthur that says tomahhhhhhto," Canada quipped.

The two boys had a good long laugh over that. In the few minutes that followed, they sat in silence, eating their cake and ice cream and just enjoying each other's company. Canada decided to make conversation with his brother, seeing that he so rarely got to spend time with him (America usually being so preoccupied with being a hero and all that).

"So what's new?" Canada asked America.

"Well," America replied, grinning mischievously, "I got some new socks. Wanna see?" He lifted his foot above the table and tried to stick his toes in Canada's face.

"Hey, come on, now, Alfred," Canada protested, trying to duck away from America's foot.

"Matty... dude, chill," America chuckled. "These socks are brand new. I literally just got them out of the package."

"The socks, maybe," Canada retorted in a mock sour tone. "But what about your feet?"

"No, I've had those for quite a while," America said, snickering.

"I can tell," Canada told him, "or should I say, I can smell."

"Aww, Matty, you're killing me," America said, pretending to be sad. "I just washed my feet... last Monday."

That brought another round of hearty laughter from the two of them. They had a few bites of cake left, but both seemed to be lingering over them, and America seemed to be perfectly content to sit there quietly with his little brother.

The comfortable silence was broken by America's cellphone going off, indicating that he had a new text. He glanced at it, tapped out a reply and then turned to Canada again. "Kiku wants me to watch a baseball game with him," he said. "Wanna come along?"

"Nah, I'll pass," Canada answered, yawning. "That couch is calling my name."

"Okay, then," America replied cheerfully, shoving the last bite of his cake into his mouth. "Have a good nap."

They both stood up and carried their plates to the sink, rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher. Canada closed the dishwasher, turned around and bumped into America, who wrapped his arms around Canada and hugged him tightly. Canada grinned from ear to ear and returned the hug warmly. "Thanks, Matty," America said.

"For what?" Canada said, a little puzzled.

"For just hanging out with me. You really are the best brother ever. I don't think I tell you that enough."

"Thanks, Alfred. You're great too."

"See ya," America called over his shoulder as he headed out the front door. Canada shuffled back to the den and flopped down on the couch. He removed his glasses and once again resumed his comfortable position. He was just dozing off when he heard, "Um, Matty?" Canada looked up to see America standing sheepishly in the doorway. "I can't find my car keys. Can you help me look for them?"


End file.
